Chansky’s Notebook: Tough Out of the Gate

Carolina’s basketball schedule is front-loaded, to say the least.

Some people say that, in college hoops, it is not how you start but how you finish. That is especially true if you are expected to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

But to make that run, teams must play well enough early to keep a high ranking and good enough record to draw a seed that will help them as the regular season winds down.

Looking at UNC’s recently released overall schedule, the Tar Heels will have to be as good as advertised to avoid multiple losses on a prolonged road trip in November and December from Portland, to Indiana to Virginia Tech and New York and Charlotte to meet Big Ten powers Ohio State and Michigan.

Hubert Davis’ second team is in a completely different position than his first that was shrouded in mystery. Carolina was coming off a blowout to Wisconsin in Roy Williams’ first and only loss in an NCAA opening-round game. Davis was a popular choice as Ol’ Roy’s successor but he inherited a team loaded with questions.

Things remained wishy-washy through an embarrassing home loss to Pitt before the worm turned and Carolina became America’s underdog down the stretch. The two wins over Duke will never be forgotten by either fan base, but the run to the title game was fraught with peril and pure survival against Baylor and UCLA.

Entering this coming season, as a consensus top-three pick in the polls, the Heels won’t be taken lightly by anyone. Virtually no team has returned such an experienced, talented group in these one-and-done days. But they still have to combine ability with good fortune.

So when they arrive at the Phil Knight tournament in Oregon with a 4-0 record against beatable mid-majors at home, they could end up facing Villanova and Alabama, UConn, Michigan State or Oregon in the second and third rounds of that highly anticipated event.

They will continue to be questioned at Indiana in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, at always-tough Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and three more games away from Chapel Hill by the end of 2022.

What will be accompanying them along the way is the highest of expectations for players who have no history with such a load. They will have to carry it well to keep from changing the narrative.

Featured image via Todd Melet

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